TU Berlin appoints Renske van der Veen as professor

Dr. Renske van der Veen investigates catalytic processes at BESSY II, which are crucial for the production of green hydrogen, among other things.

Dr. Renske van der Veen investigates catalytic processes at BESSY II, which are crucial for the production of green hydrogen, among other things. © M: Setzpfandt/HZB

For the past two years, Dr Renske van der Veen has led a research group in time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy and electron microscopy at HZB. Her research focuses on catalytic processes that enable, for example, the production of green hydrogen. She has now been appointed to a S-W2 professorship at the Institute of Optics and Atomic Physics (IOAP) at the Technische Universität Berlin.

 

Dr Renske van der Veen specialises in ultrafast X-ray methods, which she uses at BESSY II to study the fast processes involved in catalysis. Van der Veen is also contributing her expertise to the scientific requirements profile for the successor X-ray source BESSY III.

Renske van der Veen studied at the ETH Zurich and completed her PhD at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). She went on to do research at the California Institute of Technology, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen and the University of Illinois, where she was also an assistant professor. She has received the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's Sofja Kovalevskaja Award and the Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering.

arö

  • Copy link

You might also be interested in

  • MXene for energy storage: More versatile than expected
    Science Highlight
    03.02.2026
    MXene for energy storage: More versatile than expected
    MXene materials are promising candidates for a new energy storage technology. However, the processes by which the charge storage takes place were not yet fully understood. A team at HZB has examined, for the first time, individual MXene flakes to explore these processes in detail. Using the in situ Scanning transmission X-ray microscope 'MYSTIIC' at BESSY II, the scientists mapped the chemical states of Titanium atoms on the MXene flake surfaces. The results revealed two distinct redox reactions, depending on the electrolyte. This lays the groundwork for understanding charge transfer processes at the nanoscale and provides a basis for future research aimed at optimising pseudocapacitive energy storage devices.
  • Bernd Rech elected to the BR50 Board of Directors
    News
    30.01.2026
    Bernd Rech elected to the BR50 Board of Directors
    The Scientific Director at Helmholt-Zentrum Berlin is the new face behind the "Natural Sciences" unit at Berlin Research 50 (BR50). Following the election in December 2025, the constituent meeting of the new BR50 Board of Directors took place on 22 January 2026.

    Its members are Michael Hintermüller (Weierstrass Institute, WIAS), Noa K. Ha (German Centre for Integration and Migration Research, DeZIM), Volker Haucke (Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology, FMP), Uta Bielfeldt (German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin, DRFZ) and Bernd Rech (HZB).

  • A record year for our living lab for building-integrated PV
    News
    27.01.2026
    A record year for our living lab for building-integrated PV
    In 2025, our solar facade in Berlin-Adlershof generated more electricity than in any of the previous four years of operation.